Second chance
by kimicatdemon
Summary: Everybody deserves a second chance" Virginia had once said, so when a bounty hunter manages to capture the four criminals, can they manage to take their second chance far enough to stay out of jail? -TITLE MAY CHANGE- WA3
1. Lives we live today

Disclaimer: I OWN NOT THE WILD ARMS SERIES IN ANY MANNER. I just own the games...

Two years had passed since that fateful day on the Ark of Destiny...

_"What have you done to our founder?!" _The words echoed deeply in their memories. Sure it was just a case of wrong place, wrong time, but what else could they have done? Beatrice was the demon they practically worshiped and to say that she killed their founder...

Now days though, The four of them were very limited as to where they could and could not go. If there were people there whom they knew, they could be safe for the night. The Baskar Village was one of the safest places to be. The council rarely checked there for two main reasons...One, it was cultural land, barely affected by the outside world. Sure they had just as much water as everyone else, but the fact that they were still using an open flame to cook their meals instead of a stove proved to be quiet...different from what they were all used to. Two, Gallow's grandma was enough to shake them off on any given day. While she didn't like covering for her "irresponsible grandson", he was still her grandson and she cherished him enough to make sure he didn't go to jail anytime soon. Besides, with what happened with Shane, how could she deny the presence of a demon that could secretly kill people without others knowing?

Although they were safe in the village, Gallows wasn't very fond of hiding there. His fist slammed on a small table, "We should have explained everything to them! I'm sure they would have listened!!"

Virginia sighed. That's all she really could do to his reaction. Gallows wasn't enjoying this whole, "being wanted" thing too much. Nor was the rest of the group. "I know we could have told them." She said, "But I really don't think they would have believed us, no matter what we said..."

Gallows sulked down a bit, "I know, I know. I just get kind of rilled up when I realize we can't just 'walk out of town' like we used to." But Gallows wasn't alone on this. Everyone missed the days of wandering around for no reason, taking trains back and forth, and visiting all the towns freely. But those days were long gone...

"While we may not be able to adventure the way we used to, we do tend to see our families in longer intervals. We should be grateful for that." Clive added in, trying to see if he could balance the pros and cons of the situation.

"Family nothing! I hate this place!" Gallows retorted. Well no one could blame him. After all, he DID try to run away before.

"Well then let's go somewhere else then. I'm getting tired of hearing him complain." Jet sighed. They had been in the village for a little less than a week and Gallows was already throwing a fit.

"O-okay then." Virginia thought, "We can...go to Boot Hill tomorrow." She looked at Gallows, "Would that be fine?"

"I don't care, any place is better than this place. Except for jail of course." Gallows cheered up a bit at the thought of getting out of the Village. Jet was glad that Gallows would finally shut up.

Shane walked in with their dinner, and happen to over hear the conversation, "So you are leaving tomorrow brother?"

Gallows, "Yep." Gallows boasted, "We shouldn't be staying in one place too long anyway, and we have been staying here too long."

Jet snorted, "That isn't what you said at Humphrey's Peak when we said we were coming here."

Gallows gawked a bit, "W-Well you know, we had only been there five days, and Clives' daughter is still pretty young and all, so who doesn't enjoy some family time like that?"

As they ate dinner, they began to think of tomorrow's schedule. "Okay, so we should head out to shore, say about six o'clock." Virgina plotted. "We shouldn't have any problems there. It's once we are on the other side of the sea that bothers me." Virginia pondered aloud, "We don't want to be caught, but we have no idea if the council is in the area around Boot Hill."

Clive nodded in understanding. "I suggest we have one of us go on ahead as a scout? We could always borrow some clothing from here to change our appearance."

Virginia thought about it, "Okay! Sounds like a plan to me!" She then thought again, "So who do we send?" She looked around at her team mates. Gallows wouldn't look ANY DIFFRENT, so he was out. Clive could probably pull it off, but his glasses are more modern and would give him away. That left her or Jet. She looked closely at Jet, "Say Jet..."

"..." Jet didn't say a word. He just stared at her. Coldly and firmly.

"But I'm a resident there and it will give me away if people say my name!" She stood up and walked up to him. "Gallows is out for obvious reasons, and Clive's glasses are too modern to work with this society, so that leaves you!"

Jet really wished he was dreaming...

Shane stood up as well, "I have some spare clothing that just might fit you! I'll go get them right away!" Shane grabbed Jet's arm and pulled him down stairs. There were a few noises heard here and there and a few cries from Jet, but when all was said and done, they both came back up stairs. "It looks great!" Shane smiled.

Jet, on the other hand, was not amused. He glared at Virgina, "One day, you WILL regret this." He told her in a dreaded voice.

"Perfect!" Virginia ignored Jet's last threat completely.

"Are you even listening to me?" Jet yelled loudly at her.

The rest just laughed either at Jet, or the scenario, but either way, everyone but Jet was laughing.

It was now six am and they were setting off, saying good bye. Of course Gallows wasn't leaving without a good scolding from his grandma, but beyond that, it was fairly easy. At the shore, they looked over the sea of sand. Virginia had always wondered how all that sand used to be water. The very idea of it amazed her. "Okay!" She looked back at everyone, "Ready? And we're off!!" They all boarded on the sandcraft and settled down. When everyone was in their assigned positions, they took off from shore and started to head for Boot Hill.

Virginia usually dawdled around on the ship. It wasn't that she wasn't away from her post, in case they ran into a monster or two, but in the times where there were none, she was really bored. Jet had a book or two he would read while he was at his post. It wasn't much, just things that Clive had given to him for entertainment. Gallows would play his little guitar for fun. Sometimes he took a nap though, (which Virginia really advised him not to.) but he was usually woke up by everyone, so he really never got any sleep. Clive would look at files, records, and books and stuff, trying to get research done.

"Ahh!" Virginia whined a bit, "How much longer?" She asked her companions in a whiny tone.

"It should be no more than ten minutes." Clive said as he looked at a map on the screen.

"Oh.." Virginia slumped in her chair and banged her head on the counter. "Uhhhh..." She let out a strange sound almost as if she were trying to amuse herself with it.

When they reached land, Virgina was tempted to tell Jet that she would go on ahead instead of staying in the ship, but she could already tell how that would go...

_"Are you out of your mind?! I get dressed up for this and when we finally get here, you want to leave because you're BORED? You should have thought about that last night!!"_ Yeah something along that line...

As Jet left around the area, he checked the city. No one around so far. He made it to Virginia's home and asked her uncle for any information on the Ark of Destiny. Once he was sure the area was safe, he headed back carefree.

"Okay, so no one from the Ark of Destiny is in this town. They are scheduled for an appearance here for awhile either." Jet eagerly reported, "So can I get back in my regular clothes now?!"

Virginia chuckled, "okay okay. But don't take too long. Anyone else need anything from the sandcraft?" She asked the Clive and Gallows. The two of them went inside to check and make sure.

As Virginia waited outside, she listened to the sounds outside. The birds, the wind, the train sounds in the area. They all melted together and made quiet a beautiful harmony.

It would about thirty minutes before they were all out and ready to go. "Let's head out everyone!" Virginia cheered they walked on foot to enjoy the weather of the day. The sun was shining and wind was blowing nicely. Virginia smiled and looked around, "We should be there soon!" She looked over at the train station and recalled on the way the four of them had all met. Of course, she met other people on that fateful day, but she would rather not think about that.

In Boot Hill, they all could rest peacefully. (now that Gallows had shut up.) They had really just been sitting around for the past three days, so Virginia thought it would be a good idea to go stretch their wings and go battling with a few monsters. No one objected, matter of a fact, they all agreed it sounded like some fun. Boot Hill was like on an island by itself, so no one would see them. Unless they got to the island via train. Which according to Virginia's uncle, it wouldn't be till 6:00 pm would it stop by, so chances of anyone finding them would be slim to none...

Virginia and everyone battled monster after monster. Sure they took little breaks, but they hadn't had the chance to have that much fun in quiet awhile, so they were, without a doubt, enjoying themselves.

As 6:00 pm rolled around, they began to think about heading back until they could be sure that no other drifters or bounty hunters were in the area, or worst, a council member. However, when another monster appeared before them, this fear was shortly forgotten. They would finally decided to head back at sun down.

As the tip top of the sun shined down over the horizon, the four walked back pumped up from todays exercise.(after all, the monsters here were a piece of cake compared to some that they have fought...) They felt at peace a bit. They managed to release a bit of stress from all this running today, and get their minds off things, so a good nights rest sounded good to them.

But not to a pair of eyes watching them...

Four disk soon covered the area they stood in and formed a barrier cage. "What the?!" Virginia felt her heart skip a beat. Were they just...captured?

A voice from the shadows rang out to them, "Virginia Maxwell, Clive Winslet, Gallows Caradine, and Jet Enduro. Wanted for the crime of murder against the late founder of The Ark of Destiny, Lamium." A female with a Parabellum Pistol in her right and emerged. In her other hand there was a piece of paper. "If found, please report to the Ark of Destiny for reward." She then folded the paper and placed it in her back pocket. Her hair was a reddish brown color and was wild all the way down to her shoulders. Clothing wise she wore a sleeveless jacket, (which from what the lighting of the barrier was given off, it seemed the sleeves were torn off.) with a normal T-shirt like shirt underneath. She wore what looked like over sized shorts or capris. But her belt was a bit odd looking because it had a mediocre size pouch attached to the back side of it. (her gun sleeve was on her right side as well.) "Well seeing how the Ark of Destiny is a CHARTIY business, there might be some value of a reward. They don't state how much, but bringing in all four of you should at least be worth a good 400,000 gella."

Virginia didn't know what to do. Obviously they had been captured but... "Who are you?! And what do you want?!"

The girl looked at Virginia with an empty glare, "My name is Kayla Morbent. I'm a bounty hunter who travels from place to place. I was a little worked up with the way things were back at home, so I took a break here. Of course, I just came for sightseeing and what a sight." She chuckled a bit.

Virginia was completely disheartened. Her family was here on this island and she was going to be taken away. She may never see them again!! She felt herself fall to the ground, trying to hold back her tears gradually. After all the precautions they took! One careless mistake and...

Kayla looked at Virginia. Being a girl, she could see why she would be scared at what was going on. "Heh...gotta tell ya. You have my respect. Most crooks I've caught would be pleading me to let them go by now..."

Virginia stood up. "Ahh...I'm not going to plead you let us go. After all, we are wanted criminals, right?"

Jet nodded, "We got ourselves into this mess, and we don't need excuses to hide it."

Kayla looked at them. "Determined bunch aren't you...then tell me Missy, why you cryin'?" She held her gun back up.

Virginia had two options. She could tell the truth and hope this Kayla girl would believe her...or lie and make up some sort of "it just surprised me" excuse. Virginia shook her head. "_Lying wont do me any good here. It would be hard to believe that anyway. We are wanted criminals...but..." _She stepped forward, "My family lives here...and we just came here to hide so that situations like these don't happen. We run so that we can continue seeing our families." Virginia started.

Clive nodded, "Indeed. I would like to be there for my daughter's wedding one day." as he added on.

Gallows sighed a bit, "As much as I can't stand my grandma, the lady has gotten me out of a few binds here and there. And I love my little bro Shane. I don't want to see him grow up with ALL the responsibility of the tribe. I want him to know that his brother is there for him when he needs it!."

Jet just stood in the back. "Y-yeah...what they said."

Kayla couldn't help but find that last remark a little odd compared to the rest of them,but she shook it off. "So..."She started. She lowered her gun and looked at the night sky. "...the leader's family is in Boot Hill, yes?" She looked at the four of them. They didnt SEEM like all the crooks she had caught in the past...She walked up to the barrier, "Although I am a bounty hunter, I treasure family and it's value. I'll let you go on certain conditions."

Virginia gasped. Was this girl serious? She had the four of them in her fingertips and she was about to release them?

"You are to remain in Boot Hill. I'll stay in the city as well and monitor behavior and such. Show me five good days, and I'll over look this little meeting." She spoke in a very stern manner.

"W-why?" Virginia was still confused.

"I told you...I treasure the bond between families and such. I may be a professional bounty hunter but I am still human. Cut me a break would ya? So we got a deal or not?" She asked.

Virginia smiled and nodded, "Okay! we'll do it!"

Kayla sighed and put her gun back in it's sleeve, "okay, now I need you four to stand still. Deactivating these things is a pain. And since the only light source I currently have is from the barrier, I need all the light I can get."

"You don't have a flash light or anything?" Gallows asked. "I always thought people who traveled a lot were always prepared for situations like these." He chuckled.

"Out of batteries." she sighed as she knelled down to work on the first one. "Let's see...this screw...and this...okay..." there was a few beeping noises and then the first one shut down. She re-did this process three times and the barrier disappeared. "Okay, that's that." She patted her hands. She placed the screw driver in her pouch and the four small gadgets. "So we have a deal correct?"

"Yes." Virginia nodded, "And if you would like, I'm sure you can stay at my Aunt and Uncle's house."

Kayla thought about this, "Heh...you must be confident. alright, I'll chill at your place for a bit."

"Okay then, let's go home everyone!" Virginia marched forward.

"So what are we going to tell your Aunt and Uncle about her?" Jet whispered.

"I heard that." Kayla shouted.

Jet turned around, "I'm not quiet too sure that her Aunt and Uncle are going to be pleased with the idea of someone taking their niece away from them."

"True true." Kayla thought. "But in the end, it's all up to the leader, no?"

Jet replied with a sigh.

Clive thought for a moment and suggested an idea, "We could just say that we met her on our previous journey before hand. It would be safe for everyone."

Virginia then turned around, "I plan on telling them the truth."

Everyone was in shock for a moment. "Virginia are you crazy?!"

She shook her head, "They would find out eventually anyway, and they already are aware of us being taken away at any given second. So for us to say that Kayla gave us a second chance, they might feel grateful towards her."

Everyone of her teammates felt a bit uneasy, but hey, i was her family after all...

_"Good job leader, good job..."_ Kayla thought to herself.

Gallows then walked up to Kayla, "So what all do you keep in that bag anyway?"

Kayla looked over at him, "A few things...why?"

"I'm just curious that's all." He shrugged.

"Hmm...I'll show you when we get 'home'." Kayla said. She didn't feel like trying to explain every special device in her bag right now, and she knew if she didn't do so, he would probably dig through her stuff, breaking something..."_Well now..." _She thought to herself, _"Let's see how well the four of them can entertain me..."_

_OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO_

**Authors notes:** well that's my first chapter. The writing will get better as I write more, I promise, but just give me time to get my writing muse back in the groove. I would like a little constructive criticism though. Also, I'll try to make other chapters shorter, but I really wanted to introduce Kayla in the first one and it took me forever to find a way to do so. Since I just started this for fun, I don't know how long this story will run or what it will be about, so right now, it's kind of writing itself. (I just chose Wild Arms 3 because I wrote one like ages ago that I never posted.)


	2. Trial

Disclaimer: I do now own Wild arms in any manner.

Everyone reached Virginia's house. "Well," Virginia took a deep sigh, "This is it..." She opened the door slowly. Inside you could smell Aunt Shalte's cooking, and in the living room, Uncle Tesla was reading a novel.

"Oh Virginia." Uncle Tesla stood up and walk forth and embraced Virginia. "Welcome home." He looked around at the others and noticed Kayla automatically. "Oh? Who is this? A new friend?"

Virginia felt a rock fall in her stomach. "U-Uncle Tesla...could you get Aunt Shalte out here for a moment? I want to tell both of you something..." She tried her best to keep a neutral tone. She wasn't sure how they would take the news, but then again, she was afraid that if she lied to them, and they just HAPPENED to find out, they would panic at the thought of Kayla taking her away.

"Then let's head to the kitchen then, we can eat dinner and talk there. Aunt Shalte is making her famous stew." He smiled at Virginia. He knew how much she loved Aunt Shalte's Stew.

Everyone sat down at the table. Except Kayla of course, she personally felt it would be rude to eat dinner without knowing who the person was. (And she wasn't that hungry anyway. She had eaten quiet a bit on the train trip here.)

"So Virginia, what was the news you wanted to tell the two of us?" Uncle Tesla asked.

"..." Virginia felt her voice leave her, but something on the inside told her that it had to be done... "Well...this woman..." She started, "This woman is a bounty hunter who captured us while we were training today." she lowered her head in shame.

Both relatives let out a smal gasped and seemed to drop their spoons. Virginia noted their concern and she quickly raised her head and flailed her arms around, "B-But it's not as bad a you think it is! She promised she would let us go after a certain trial of some sort!" She spoke loudly in a comforting voice.

Kayla then interrupted to explain the trial Virginia spoke of, "It's rather easy...I just want to see if they really have a reason to stay out of the slammer. Most thugs and crooks don't even have family to fall back on, but it looks like this is a homely looking place and gives good support." She explained. Kayla then turned to Virginia, "And good job Virginia. Had you lied to them about who I was, that wouldn't had settled too well with me. Strong families are built off firm trust."

Clive glanced at Kayla, "Looks like you have some experience in what makes a family itself." He spoke in a manner that made him seem curious to see what made Kayla so strict on family standards.

Kayla looked at Clive and sighed, "I'm from Laxisland." She started off in a rather embarrassed manner, rubbing the back of her neck, "My family gets by in life. Mom works in the bar as a waitress, and father works in engineering for the alien believers in the town."

Gallows let out a loud laugh, "Woah, woah, woah, you're one of those 'We're not alone people' aren't you?"

Kayla let out a sigh, "A part of me still thinks that, but I like to leave matters like that as childhood dreams." She then shook her head to get back on topic, "Anyway, we've had our slow periods where all we had is each other. In the end, I was raised to believe that no matter who you are with in your life, family is the one thing you can always support on." She then looked at Uncle Tesla and Aunt Shalte, "Usually when I capture wanted people, I can tell just from a glance that they really don't have anyone waiting for them at home. The four of you didn't strike me that way though. You all look too proper."

She then turned her head slowly to Jet, "Although...your response back there was a little vague, Spunkey."

Jet closed his eyes, "None of your business." He scolded at her. He gt out f his chair and left, "I'm going to bed. Good night." He walked up stairs without another word.

Kayla was once again baffled, "Fine, be that way." She sneered.

"Ah!" Virginia panicked. She didn't want to see Jet taken away because of his behavior. It was only natural that he reacted that way...right? She looked over at Clive and hoped his intellgence might save her and the her what to do.

Clive noticed the look instantly. He turned to Kayla, then thought for a moment. He got out of his chair, "Kayla, could you come with me for a moment?"

Looking over at Clive, they both walked outside of the house.

Virginia screeched a little, "Please let her understand..." She wasn't sure if telling her was the best idea, but if they planned on having Jet stick around, she would have to know about his reactions to family and such.

Outside, Clive and Kayla were going for a walk in the town, "So what you want to talk about? Spunkey in there?"

Clive of course didn't want to just come out and say that he wasn't human. That wouldn't be the best approach. Instead, he decided to phrase it a bit differently. She could take it however she felt necessary. "Jet is...not like the rest of us. He doesn't have an immediate family to support him when he wants to rest." He simply stated.

"Hmm..." Kayla processed this in her mind, "Orphan?"

Clive thought, "Somewhat...But still, you may notice he will be cold and uncaring at times, but that's only because he's a child with a lot to learn."

Kayla then placed Jet's reaction, response and Clive's information together, "Well...I guess there's nothing I really can do about that situation." She stopped for a brief moment, "So I'll just make sure he doesn't get in any major trouble." She shrugged. It would be hard to measure someone's family relations when they didn't have one...

Clive let out a quiet sigh of relief. It seemed she understood what she needed to, and Jet's secret was still safe. "That's fine with me. Now we should head back now...I'm sure Virginia's parents have made their minds up about you."

As the two of them walked in the door, Virginia felt her heart skip a beat, _"How much does she know? Is Jet safe? His rudeness can be overlooked, right?" _

Kayla was approached by Virginia's parents. Uncle Tesla bowed. "I thank you greatly from the bottom of my heart. I don't know what I would have done if Virginia was taken away."

Shalte agreed with him, "Yes, after all she's our little angel. Thank you very much for giving her a second chance."

Kayla took a moment to think of a response. She didn't usually do this sort of thing but, "It's like I said," She started, "They just don't strike me as the thug type."

Suddenly out of nowhere, Gallows appeared behind her, "hey! Now that we've eaten, mind showing me what's in the bag?"

Kayla sighed, "You're determined one, aren't you?" She walked over to the living room and placed her bag on the table, "Okay there really is nothing special in this bag, I don't know why you want to see what's all in it so badly."

Gallows looked at her with disbelief, "So those things you captured us with aren't special for you guys?!"

Kayla snickered, "Tch, Please, I made them myself. They're probably the strangest thing in this bag. I made them because it makes capturing people much easier. Tying them up just doesn't work anymore."

Gallows laughed, "You're telling me." The two of them looked into her bag. (which really wasn't that organized. She later found that she did have batteries for her flash light in the first aid kit.)

Virginia took the moment to ask Clive what exactly he told her, "Don't worry." He assured. "She probably just thinks he's an orphan. She doesn't know that half of it."

Virginia sighed deeply, "Oh thank goodness." She could relax now knowing that Jet would be safe if he didn't show any sort of actual social skills.

"I keep things written in this notepad." Kayla's voice ran over Virginia's conversation. "Let's things like..." she flipped through and her voice became rather disheartened. "Like my friend Aries who's birthday was two days ago..." judging form the tone of voice she used, one could easily guess she forgot all about it.

"Reminders aren't helpful if you don't check them often..." Gallows chuckled.

Kayla grabbed him with her arm and placed him in a head lock, "What?! You think I don't know that?!"

Gallows screeched a bit, "Ack! Can't..breathe...!"

Virginia laughed a bit. While Kayla did a good job on sneaking up on them, it looked like she got her head in her work too much and had her share of problems as well. _"Maybe this trial will be more fun than I thought..." _

On day one, Virginia woke up and reviewed everything that happened the other day. They now had "guest" in their household. If the guest was not satisfied, she could very well take their freedom. _"So now we just have to on our best behavior..."_ She held faith that everyone could pull through on this.

She walked downstairs and saw everyone at the table eating breakfast, "Good morning!" She said in her usual tone.

Looking at the table, she saw Gallows and Jet were arguing as usual, and Kayla was just satring at them. She then watched Kayla as she got up from her chair, grabbed a handful of bacon and shoved it into Gallows mouth. (Jet was on the other side of the table so she couldn't reach him.) she then glared at Jet, "You shut up and eat!"

"Well, personality wise, she's adjusted..." Virginia thought to herself. She sat down at the table and began eating her breakfast. Looking around, she noticed that Clive was already done with his and reading, "So Clive...umm..what are you reading?"

Clive looked up, "Oh? This? It's just a quick little documentary book over sandcrafts and their development."

"Oh I see..." Virginia didn't really get it, but she let him have his fun. She then looked around and saw Kayla was eating breakfast, "So Kayla, how is my Aunt's cooking?" She asked.

Kayla looked up, "Good. She knows how to cook meats to where they are cooked well, but still hold good flavor."

Virginia sighed a bit. No sense of tension in the air yet. Even Gallows and Jet had stayed quiet.

"So..." Virginia started, "What are we going to do today?" She asked everyone.

"I was thinking about reading this book today, it's quiet big so it may take awhile." Clive remarked.

Gallows though, "I hadn't really thought of much...I guess I could just relax like I always do."

Jet remained quiet as he finished his food. Once he was done he looked up at Gallows, "Avoid him." Gallows would have made a smart remark back, but seeing how Kayla just shut them up and he almost choked on bacon, he kept quiet.

"Well, I need to go get a birthday present for when I go back home. Aries is a good friend of mine, but doesn't ever leave town. So I think a foreign gift might be special."

Virginia grinned, "We could go shopping together! Like a girls only thing!"

Kayla looked up at Virginia. "Normally I would say are you out of your mind, but since I don't know the town too well, sure." She watched Virginia smile again. "BUT NO CALLING IT GIRLS DAY OUT!" She yelled.

Virginia and Kayla looked around the stores in Boot Hill. "See? This one sells really nice clothes and books! That one over there has a bunch of knick knacks like key chains and such."

Kayla looked around at some clothes and they both agreed on a really nice looking skirt. "Aries is a bit girly, so she'll like it." She said as she paid for it.

"Really?" Virginia was stunned. "But you don't look like you would be much the girly types would befriend..."

Kayla laughed, "Oh don't worry, I'm plenty like that, I just don't like to be taken for some sort of weak chick, so I fight in a proper attire."

"So..." Virginia began to get curious, "What are your friends like? Are they drifters too or...?"

yet again, another laugh escaped Kayla, "Haha! No, I'm the only drifter I know amongst us. But I can already picture one of them being some sort of masked hero. That would be totally awesome." She laughed some more.

Virginia laughed too, "So you travel by yourself?"

Kayla calmed down, "Yeah...I used to travel with a companion from the town to check the telepath towers frequently. We never ran into any aliens though. But then again, I was only 14."

"14 and using a gun?!" Virginia jumped back. _"Oh wait I was using one at the age of 5?" _She stood back up, "Sorry, Just kind of startled me a bit..." She then wondered another question, "How old are you anyways?" Kayla walked forward without answering, "Hello?" Virginia was just GUESSING she was probably in her 20's and not too proud feeling.

So the days went by, quiet quickly actually. It was already the fourth day and Kayla was fidgeting around. (she wanted to hurry and get back home to give Aries her birthday gift.) Gallows and Jet argued quiet often, which was confront by Kayla's short temper and behavior rules. Gallows and Jet had never been put in time out so many time in less than a week. Virginia was her usual self, helping her Aunt and Uncle when needed. Actually she had forgotten about this whole scenario being a trial. Until dinner that night...

"I'll be leaving tomorrow." Kayla announced, "I really need to head back home and give Aries her birthday present."

Virginia nodded, "I see.." To be honest, in the few short days she hung around, she kind grew to like Kayla. Her personality was very...inserting...

Gallows laughed, "She's gonna bring back an alien sampling to show us next time, watch..." he whispered to Jet.

"You shut up!" Her fist slammed against the table.

"My my, this place is going to seem dull without all of you." Uncle Tesla laughed. He liked the liveliness everyone brought in the house.

Clive laughed, "Indeed, even when we part ways, it seems Kayla fits right with the wild bunch of the group." He laughed a bit.

Kayla sulked a bit, "Put me with Spunkey before him!" She pointed at Gallows.

"Jet! The name is Jet!" He repeated for the fifth time that day.

"Yeah yeah whatever..." Kayla ignored Jet again. Although she had a feeling that she would regret it one day.

"So...after you give the present to your friend what do you plan on doing?" Virginia asked. If it wasn't anything too risky, she might want to meet up with her again. It was nice talking with a female drifter every once in awhile. (Unlike Maya who barely ever listened...)

"Depends if I got a task at home or not. If I do, I need to put that above all else, but if not, I guess I could just go do some more 'sightseeing'." She snickered. Sightseeing was the way she found these four.

"Ah..I see..." Virginia was a little taken aback. Not even Kayla knew her next step. Her wings were free to fly where ever, where as they probably couldn't go in Laxisland. There wouldn't be anywhere to really hide if trouble came along.

Kayla looked at Virginia and took the clue, "If you want to come along..." She started, "Feel free to, you can stay at my place. But if you get caught, it's your own problem, not mine."

Virginia clapped her hands together, "Thank you so much!" It would feel great being able to travel to a town where they weren't really known and didn't have the shelter of family. It felt almost like being a real drifter again.

"We leave at dawn." Kayla announced. "But after sunrise, cause I don't play that whole wake up with the sun game."

Virginia laughed, "Okay! You can stay at my post on the sandcraft! It'll be a lot of fun!"

Everyone was suddenly grateful as they realized Virginia might not be so BORED this time around. Especially since it would be a longer trip...

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Authors Note: Okay, so this chapter is more or less to introduce the OC character Kayla. (She's a bounty hunter yes, but it's just an excuse she uses to go sightseeing.) Overall, I think Virginia wouldn't mind another female drifter hanging around for a bit. The actual story is SCHEDULED to kick in next chapter, but we'll just see how that turns out. For now, please help me better my writing and review please!


	3. At Home?

Disclaimer: I do not own the Wild arms series.

It was about nine in the morning when they all headed out. They reached the sandcraft with about thirty minutes, so it wasn't that getting there was the hard part...

"They actually MAKE these things still?!" Kayla freaked out at the size, "It's HUGE! I bet you can get quiet a bang on these things!! I'm with whoever uses the guns!"

Virginia raised her hand, "That's me."  
"Awesomeness..." Kayla could barely hold in her excitement, "We're getting in one fight on this thing, cause I wanna pull the trigger just ONCE!"

Everyone was starting to get a little...scared or confused. Clive just hope she didn't break anything. Dragon fossils are not easy to find. Gallows hoped she didn't blow the thing up. And Jet just hoped he could find the mute button on the speakers in time. Virginia was a little worried that she would cause the sandcraft more damage than needed though, "Umm..I'll walk you through it the firing process..." Virginia said in a strange monotone voice.

Inside the sandcraft, the five of them sat in their given areas. Virginia and Kayla sat at the top for the gunners spot. "Dude, that gun is HUGE!" Kayla continued to spazz over the size of the gun. Virginia got her wish of not having a boring time, she had to put up with Kayla trying to shoot the gun for no reason. "I'll let you shoot the gun when we run into a monster!" She continued to tell Kayla.

"But I wanna shoot it now!" Kayla threw a fit like a three year old.

"Why do you care so much for a gun anyway?!" Virginia asked.

Kayla looked at Virginia. "I could care less for the gun...it's the explosion that matters to me." Virginia just stared at Kayla and her strange obsession with explosions. "What?" She started, "You rarely EVER see a good explosion now days. If it is, it's usually on a building or something."

Sighing, Virginia gave up on trying to reason with her. She was just out there with her own interest. Then it hit Virginia. She might regret it later, but one of the best ways to distract a person like her away from the gun would be... "So why do you think aliens are watching us?" She asked.

It obviously worked, Kayla looked away from the gun, sat down and started to explain her view on things, "The telepath towers are obviously used for communication. The only manner that the village uses them is to analyze the data input and review it. However, even our best scholars can't figure the language out. We end up having tons and tons of information, however, it's no good if you can't understand what's being said."

Virginia tilted her head, "Why can't they figure it out? The language?"

Kayla sighed, "They apparently have 65 characters in their given alphabet. Meaning they use words in everyday language and make it into a character. These are usually verbs, however, you can see characters that look fairly similar. We're guessing this is conjugation of some sort on the verbs, but we aren't entirely sure." She thought some more, "Also, it seems their sentence structure is a bit odd. So instead of saying plain old 'I eat bread' they say something like 'Bread I eat.' While is seems easy enough, it can get somewhat difficult on the longer sentences and phrases, and they seem to have exceptions in the language themselves."

Soon there was a voice ringing through the room they were in, "You seem to know quiet a bit on this matter." Clive's voice rang through the speakers.

"Oh no, I just really only so much because I used to go help analyze data from the towers when I was younger."

Clive nodded on his side, "I see...then what do you specialize in?"

Kayla shrugged, "Well since I decided to become a drifter instead of a full time member of the association, I can really only be offered small task such as paper work if it's available. Small workers like me only get small task and are usually in the association via family. For me it's my dad."

"Hmm..I see...so what happens to someone who is a drifter but the family is not in the association in any manner?" Clive asked.

"Well." Kayla thought, "I think it rarely happens that way. Usually if they're kids in the association they work on small things. Eventually they outgrow it and go on in life. But the ones that stay usually can get promoted if they stay full time. Some become drifters to spread the word."

Suddenly Gallows laugh murmured through the speakers "And here we have a long time believer."

Kayla slammed her fist on the counter, "Be quiet! You believe in spirits don't you?! Same difference!!"

And through the rest of the trip it was like this...sadly Jet was angered to realize there was no button to turn off the speakers and had to listen to it the entire way to Laxisland.

Once there, everyone looked around. So foreign, so familiar, so dangerous and yet, so exciting. This was the first time they had been in a town with no family protection. (that was half decent. Little Twister did not count by all standards.) "Wow!" Virginia gasped a little, "This brings up the good old feelings of by gone days..." She sighed deeply and looked around. It was so strange to walk in a town and not have people welcome you back, but rather just ignore you and just walk by.

"Come on." Kayla said in a normal tone, "My house is near the back end of town. It's pretty shaky, but holds well." She started to walk, "Oh, and just act natural...this town doesn't get too much sunlight, so as long as you don't act suspicious, ain't no one gonna notice ya'."

They all manage to reach the back end of town. The air in the city was certainly different. Unfamiliar faces, no one running up to them or waving, even the dim lite areas added on a special effect to the town. Kayla stopped at one house. It was made out of ragged bricks and seemingly scrap metal at the top. It seemed firmly built, but the materials just looked very cheap. "Home sweet home...beauty, ain't it?" Kayla laughed, "This town is TOTALLY gilded. Sure the Inn may look nice, and a few other things look so so to keep drifters occupied, but the truth is, most this town finical support goes to the association. Aside from the dragon den, this town doesn't get much recognition. The residents get ill fairly easily, and we always need torches and stuff to keep our town lite so the kids find it hard to play outside. The justice system is better than that of Little Twister though, but the only thing that keeps this town alive is all research we do. A lot of scholars come and study it." Kayla said before walking down the path to her home. She reached for the door casually and opened it. "Hey everyone! I'm back!" She yelled out loud. The house remained fairly quiet even afterwards. "Hmmm...No answer?" Kayla walked to the back of the house to a door. She tried to open it, but it appeared to be locked. "Eh? Uhh..." She took a step back and kicked the door in, " I SAID I WAS HOME!" She yelled as the door went flying in.

Everyone heard a bunch of metal sounds collapse. "Gahh!" They heard the voice of a man yell. Judging from the voice, he was fairly old, but not quiet old enough to stay away from machinery. A man came out of the room. He looked to be in his middle 50's or such. "Oh Kayla! You've come back? That's great!" he would have hugged his daughter is he was not covered in sooth at the moment.

"Yeah." Kayla nodded, "I brought some friends too..." She shouldered over to Virginia and the rest.

"Oh?" he father looked at them. With the dimly lite room, he couldn't tell the people far off in the back but just by seeing Virginia, they already looked familiar, "Say, aren't those the people on the wanted poster? They look less vile in person..." he was a little confused though as to why she brought them here though...

Kayla sighed, "I just don't think we know what happened. I've meet a few of those ark guys and they've got a few screws loose..." She then looked at Virginia, "Besides...I just can't place the feeling on it, but I don't think these guys are crook material." She looked around, "Anyway, mom at work? The door was locked, and you don't really count for being home."

Her father held his chin firmly, "Hmm..yes...she is...I think she'll be home in about an hour or so." He wiped his hand on his shirt, "So your friends staying over here? If so, I'll go prepare the rooms."

Kayla nodded, "Okay you do that. I'm gonna jump of to Aries's house for a bit and drop off her gift. I'll be back and make some dinner for everyone. We'll work off what to do till then for later. Until dinner time, you guys chill in the living room. There's a few things in there, so occupy yourselves." She told Virginia and her team as she left the house.

"Well..." Virginia turned around and looked at the living room. It had a small television, a small book shelf, some papers, a table made out of wood and some sack like chairs. "I guess we can relax for a bit..."

About an hour or so later, Kayla walked in the door. "Sigh...I'm never going there if I'm late for a party again." She sighed. She was greeted by her guest. "Huh? Oh yeah you guys are here..." she chuckled a bit, "Dad said a few things, didn't he?"

Clive pushed his glasses up a bit, "Aside from a bit a swearing from the basement, nothing too severe."

Kayla sighed, "Yeah, well, he just gets into his work and hates when he messed up. Mom should be home soon though." She took a look at a nearby clock. "Yeah...about another hours or so..." She stretched her arms out, "Well if my mom is gonna come home to see me, I might as well look nice." She walked back down a dim hallway. Everyone followed her into the hall which led to a small room. It looked fairly decent given the current living conditions. There were a few small dolls on a dusty shelf with some books. The books were all fictional as well. The bed looks small but well kept. There was a faded carpet on the ground. Kayla walked up to a closet and slammed it open. "Let's see..." She pulled out some clothes. "This is my room. We really don't have enough for a lot of luxuries like the inn, but I like this room. It's small and comfy. Also it's dark enough in here that I could take a nap at any given time of day." She giggled, "I'm gonna go clean myself up real quick. Feel free to look around in here." She walked out of the room.

"Wow...her room looks so...normal..." Virginia stalled out of her mouth. She would figure there would be some sort of stand out feature given the whole alien thing in town, but Kayla's room looked so ordinary.

"She might have something stashed away in here..." Jet mumbled. "She seems like that kind of person."

Clive sighed. "I don't think it would be wise to go snooping around in someone else's room."

Gallows agreed with Clive, "Yeah, remember: we're in her territory now. One mess up and she could through us in jail."

They all sighed and dawdled around the house for a good thirty minutes before Kayla returned. She threw her old clothes in a hamper and looked at everyone, "Well we still got thirty minutes to kill, who's up for a card game or something?"

Everyone just stared at Kayla. Somehow she went for looking ragged and tough to looking quiet feminine. Her hair was now set nicely on a headband. Her wandering clothes were now replaced by a simple blouse top and frilly skirt. Her boots were now small dress shoes.

"Don't look at me like you've never seen a girl before." She told all them, referring to Virginia who wore a dress all the time.

After playing a few card games, they heard the door open up a bit farther out in the house, "Oh! Must be mom." Kayla stood up and ran outside, "Guess who's come back!" She yelled through the halls.

When they reached the kitchen area, they saw Kayla with her mom. It was obvious where her looks were received from. Not only did they have the same hair color, the had the same eyes. "So how was your time out, sweetie?" Her mom's voice rang through the house.

"It was fun!" She shook her head, "oh! Come on out you guys!" She yelled in the direction of the hallway.

Virginia and everyone stepped out of the hall. "Umm...Please to meet you..." Virginia spoke.

The mother looked at the four of them, then glanced over to Kayla then back to them. It was obvious she knew who they were, but seeing how Kayla had accepted them, she simply smiled back, "It's good to meet you too."

Everyone quietly relaxed. It looked like her mom was a nice person who wouldn't be backstabbing them anytime soon.

Kayla's mom looked at everyone, "So what might your names be?" She asked them.

Virginia nodded, "I'm Virginia...this is Clive, Gallows and Jet." She introduced all of them.

The mother nodded, "I am Evera. I'm glad to see Kayla met such nice people on her journey." She looked in her pantry, "I'm going to start on dinner now. Kayla can you go get your father and tell him to start cleaning up?"

Kayla nodded, "Okay." She walked down to the basement. The next thing that Virginia's gang heard would never be forgotten...

"Hey dad...mom says it's time to start cleaning up."

"One second! I just need to get this last task done!"

"Last task? That means you're not coming up are you?"

"I will...Just let me finish this..."

"...Mom says upstairs now..."

"I know hold on..."

"...Did I mention Virginia and her crew ran into aliens before?"

Before they knew it, the dad was upstairs with a notepad, "Tell me what you saw!"

Virginia wasn't sure if she wanted to react or not..."Umm..." She chuckled a bit. "Well...they were BIG!" Virginia complied. She wasn't sure just how much she should have told him. (as if she mentioned the space ship, he would have gone crazy and tried to get every drop of information out of her. Information that was a bit blurry in her head.)

After the whole "interview" experience, they all sat down to eat dinner which Kayla's mom had made. "Thanks mom! This taste great!" Kayla cheered happily.

Virginia tried the soup a bit. Surely it didn't LOOK edible, with it's gray coloring and strange colored chunks which were to be meat, but actually, it tasted pretty good. "Oh! This is good!"

Everyone tried a bit and agreed. It wasn't so heavily seasoned to taste like water, but enough to give it flavor of some sort...and it wasn't so watery to overwhelm the seasonings. The mother apprently knew how to balance out the proper dish with the lack of seasonings with the food.

Kayla ate hers about halfway before she began talking, "I haven't seen too much action lately...I might go wandering around for a bit before I decide to settle down at home and help you guys out."

Evera nodded, "That's good news. I'm glad you are happy traveling, but I do worry about you a bit..."

Kayla sighed. "Ugghh..I know mom...why the guilt trip?" she whined.

Virginia chuckled. That sounded just like something her Aunt and Uncle would say.

Gallows turned around, "But now you're hanging out with us! Some sort of action is BOUND to follow."

Kayla sighed, " Well as long as I don't end up going to jail because of you guys, I'm fine."

Jet grunted a bit, "So you enjoy our company and yet aren't willing to take the risk?"

Kayla glared at the white haired boy, "Damn straight."

Jet was ready to argue, "But that's stupid! Why would we let you travel with us if--!!" Suddenly the house shook like a violent tornado came out of nowhere. Everyone grabbed the table for support and tried to keep their chairs from falling over, although they were skidding around quiet a bit. They heard a few fragile things fall over and break, and this included a shelf or two. At the sound of the shelf in the living room falling, Virginia released the table and covered her ears instinctively and fell over. Then, as quickly as it had started, it stopped.

Kayla looked around at her now trashed home..."Woah..." She got up from her chair alert and only went a safe distance, lest there be another one form. She looked around with her mother who walked up behind them. Nothing too major was lost, just some simple things, but the fact that in a matter of moments all that fell over and broke...

A large crash we heard from the basement. "Gah!" Kayla jumped up.

Clive helped Virginia off the ground and she dusted herself off. "What was that?"

Kayla's dad jumped up, " My lab!!" He dashed down stairs and found several of his own possessions now piled under his other tools and projects and such.

Kayla looked around, "Damn...and this was the E47 model too..." She tapped on what looked like some sort of capsule. "It might be awhile before you get another one of these..."

Virginia looked around some more, "But what could have caused all this?"

Clive sighed, "I recommend we take a look outside and see if anyone else would know the answer to that..."

Gallows turned around, "It's not like we can just go up and ask someone..."

Removing his glasses, Clive sighed. "I know that, so perhaps we should send Kayla or he mother to the surface?"

Kayla looked at Clive, " Why us? We need to start cleaning up."

Gallows, "Don't you worry about a thing, we'll help with the clean up. You, Virginia and Mrs. Evera can go outside for a look. Right now it's mostly heavy lifting stuff and that's not thing pretty young ladies should be doing."

Kayla cracked her knuckles, "You saying I can't lift heavy things punk?"

Clive interrupted, "It's common manners. I would have to agree with Gallows and say that between the four of us men, we may have some work done when you all return."

Sighing, Kayla turned to Virginia. "Hey mom, get some extra clothes for her. She's obvious the way she is. If anything we can probably fool a FEW people."

Once Virginia was in some clothes handed to her by Evera, she met up with Kayla. "My mom went to go check on her work area. I've been thinking and the best spot to check would be at the very front side of town and search from there. We're bound to meet a few people there...But be careful of the alien loonies."

As they walked out of the house and made their way to the front of town, they began to hear noises of people...LOTS of people... "So whatever it was, I'm guessing it's here...it looks like everyone is here..." They reached the corner side of town and saw a HUGE mob...If not the entire city standing at the front gate.

Virginia gasped a bit, could she be allowed to go that far? What if someone recognized her? She was about to turn to tell Kayla to go back and they would ask her mom later, but she saw Kayla's eyes fixed on ONE thing...

A tree...not just any tree though...A LARGE BLACK TREE. It was taller than Yggdrasil without question. Also, if her eyes were not deceiving her, it looked like there was some sort of mist or really strong wind inside of it. "What...on earth?"

Kayla figured out that Virginia probably saw the tree as well, and simply made one comment..." THAT. IS ONE. AWESOME. TREE."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

A/N: Well the story is starting to kick in and it took me forever to sit down and write this chapter. Why? Because it kinda needed build up. I could have had this all happen over at Virginia's place, but I kinda rejected the idea because I liked the idea of the tree sprouting in the dragon's den a lot more. (since the dragon is gone and all.) and it's isolated from normal cities. So the location and my reason for having it there is said, but will be placed into more detail later. I don't know exactly how much of this story I am going to write though. I would like to make it an epic story, but I'm just SO VERY LAZY. D: OS don't be surprised if one chapter takes forever to appear unless it's seriously epic in my opinion.


	4. plan set

Disclaimer: I do not own Wild Arms in any manner.

At the front of the town, Kayla and Virginia blended into the crowd carefully. "Woah.....look at that tree...it's all HUGE and stuff." Kayla gasped.

Virginia on the other hand, stared carefully at the tree...Nothing but staring....something didn't feel right at all to her. "Maybe we should go back...." She whispered over to Kayla.

"Hm? Already? But we don't even know what it is. It can't POSSIBLY be a tree." Kayla snorted.

"That may be exactly why we should head back. If anyone catches me here..."

Kayla sighed. "Alright then, YOU go back. I'll gather bits and pieces of information. As a drifter myself, I think I might be able to scrounge up a few good resources." Kayla then proceeded to run through the crowd.

Virginia walked back in the house, sighing. She knew that it wasn't HER feeling danger, it was the guardians. Usually when they felt trouble, it was never a good sign.

Back at the house, she saw that Clive,Gallows and Jet had managed to clean the house up for the most part, while Kayla's father fixed his lab. "Nothing is too badly broken...is it?" Virginia asked.

Clive sighed, "A few glasses and such are broken, but nothing irreplaceable form what I can tell."

Hearing this, Jet murmured quietly to himself, "Not like there was much value here anyway...."

Virginia turned to Jet, "Say something?"

Jet automatically turned around and faced her, "N-no...." He knew if he answered that question wrong, he would have to hear another one of her lectures. Maybe even Kayla would decided to be bold and jump in.

Gallows evaluated the area as well, "Well, it looks like the house is still okay....what did you guys find?"

Virginia nodded, "A large tree.....it was abnormally large....and...dark....I think it was moving in a spiral like manner too."

Clive pondered for a moment, "A tree? Spinning?"

Virginia nodded, "Yes...I don't know what it was, but....the guardians received a bad feeling from it. I could tell." She held her chest as if she tried to calm herself, but it was not her afraid. It was a force she held, a force with a will of its own.

Thinking, the four of them came to one conclusion. They would go inspect this situation themselves.

"But The Ark may be there themselves." Virginia spoke aloud. "We can't go if we are going to get caught. We need a plan."

They thought for a good twenty minutes before a familiar face busted in, "What's up?" Kayla spoke as she walked in, "Everything okay in here?"

Virginia nodded, "Looks like a few glasses broke, but nothing beyond that."

Kayla nodded, "Good good....although my father probably didn't have the same luck as the house. There is some pretty sensitive stuff down there." She rubbed her head. "Oh well, the fact that something abnormal occurred may make him feel better."

She walked to the sofa and sat down. It was nice a fluffy like, but it also was rather worn out. "Well," She changed subjects, "What's on your minds? You look like you're having some sort of meeting."

Clive nodded, "Yes, we are currently discussing a way to get close enough to that tree without having to discover if the Ark of Destiny would be present."

Kayla's eye popped open a bit, "Oh? That's pretty risky."

"We have no choice." Virginia added, "We have a bad feeling about it...and...we can't let it go unchecked."

Kayla stared at Virginia for a bit, "Woman.....NUTS."

Gallows chuckled a bit, "We all agree on this, so in a sense we're all nuts too, right?

Sighing, Kayla agreed to Gallows statement, "So what plan do you guys have right now anyway?"

The room remain silent....

"That hard, huh?" Kayla placed her feet up on the coffee table. "Well...I'll see if I can help out. No doubt in my mind the association will go to inspect on this occasion." She waved her hand up in the air, "But whether or not they would be able to hide you guys successfully is another thing."

"Kayla, get your feet off the table!!" Kayla's mom yelled as she walked in the door.

"Ahh...mom, I was just getting cozy...and I was looking cool!" She whined.

"You know the rules..." Her mother sighed, "No feet on the furniture."

Kayla continued to pout.

The next day around evening, Kayla and her father had apparently stepped out. It was no trivia as to where they had gone. Although they could not do much, Virginia and the rest waited calmly at the house. They were given certain times and conditions they could go outside to restock or gain information. Apparently the father had a thing against the Ark of Destiny himself, thus the mother agreed greatly with his rules. As for what this grudge was, none of them knew. And none of them cared enough to ask.

"Bah." Jet spouted, "There's nothing to do around here. Can't we go beat up some monsters or something?"

Everyone expected him to be the first to snap, "Well..." Virginia tried to think of a way to put it so Jet would remain calm.

"They're gonna be back soon, right?" Gallows started. "We can just wait for them here, and then find something to do...."

"...." Jet wasn't really amused, but saw Gallows point. He remained quiet and flipped a page of a book he was reading.

Some time after that, Kayla and her father walked in the door. Her father walked merrily to his lab with a small sack of supplies while Kayla joined everyone in the living room. "Well...." She started, then realized all their eyes went to the sack her father had, "Restoring supplies." She sighed, "Anyway, in the case involving all of you." She trailed off, "The association will be heading over there tomorrow. In order to promote keeping you guys safe, we're going to have to separate you guys at least into pairs. You can regroup and all that later. But from what I heard, The Ark is already there. They claimed it to be some sort of special land for them and are highly guarding it." She sat on the arm rest to the sofa, "So we have a fifty-fifty chance of being a success." She muttered. "The key rule in this case is to wait for orders. I'll set up a scenario where I'll do a quick swap up in group members or something."

"You can do that?" Virginia asked.

"Nope." Kayla smirked, "But my dad is coming with and he is considered a leader in the field of technology within the association. Given his case, I'm sure he'll lead a small group for sampling and testing. Can't be no more than ten I would imagine."

"That's great! You alien believers are useful, you know that?" Gallows said, meaning it all as a complement, too bad Kayla didn't take it that way and snapped.

As Gallows and Kayla bickered over the difference of aliens to guardians, Clive sat down and tried to take available information to think of a good scenario or reason as to why they would need to switch members. "How many people in the association would know your father's technology enough?"

Kayla and Gallows stopped their fighting instantly with a glare. Kayla turned away and began to think, "I would guess maybe....a few high ups that aren't in the technology division. He has some pretty high class stuff."

Clive then thought some more, "Maybe you could send for someone who may be able to assist your father with his technology?

Kayla took that thought in for a moment, "It could work." She then looked at them, "So who is going with who?"

"I don't care...as long as they'll shut up about it in the end, I'm happy." Jet frowned.

"You're never really optimistic, are you?" Kayla questioned.

Jet simply ignored her.

Turning back to the remaining listeners, "Okay, so Clive has to be one of the ones we fetch. He looks like a smart man so it would be a simple task for that."

Virginia nodded, "And which one of us goes with him?"

Kayla thought for a moment, "If I go to fetch the two, we will have a female and a researcher. That means we have to look like we are being cautious and not clumsy or suspicious. Either Jet or Gallows."

Gallows ticked a bit, "Why one of us?" Jet's face held agreement to Gallows statement.

With an impressed glare, Kayla simply stated one thing, "Status quo sucks."

Judging from the fact that there was no response to that, everyone saw where Kayla was heading. A girl is almost always seen as weak and defenseless. The fact that they could get in would be a miracle. Of course, since Virginia and Kayla would be with her father who only dealt with research, that would probably be over looked. Then as the researcher, Clive would seem to excel more in wisdom than in power, (but which they all knew WAS MOST DEFIDENTLY NOT TRUE.) So in that case, they would need someone of the fighter type. Jet, while small, diffidently was able to hold the looks of a fighter type. Not to mention his personality fit well. Gallows took on the older fighter feel, and his personality was that of a traveler.

"Hmm...." Kayla thought for a bit, "Your call." She looked at Virginia.

Virginia jumped back a bit, "Me?"

Kayla nodded, "You're the leader, RIGHT?" that last word was placed with a bit a of worry. Hoping she wasn't wrong about always assuming that Virginia was the boss. I mean after all, judging from how she was treated, she didn't seem babied or pampered by the other men, but rather they looked to her for advice and decisions at time.

Virginia nodded, "Y-yeah I am...but if you made agreements with the association, you would know who would be more beneficial....right?"

"Meh..." Kayla waved her hand in the air, "I would personally go with send Clive and Gallows. They're older so it won't look that suspicious. Worse case scenario, we can just say he's an expert in ancient technology...which is sort of true."

Virginia thought, "Yeah...I guess...So we'll have Clive and Gallows be on one group and the three of us in another?"

Kayla nodded, "Sure. If that's the plan, then all is set. All we have to do is get you guys some clothing or uniforms. You're all going to have to wear hats though. Try not to take them off until we're all together and it's safe."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Well then....that being said and done...we should consider a few other things. You guys need to have your weapons upgraded or something? My father may not be the best and may not be as good as the people in the arms customization shop, but if you are going to hang around here, you might as well TRY to be prepared."

Jet slammed his fist on the wall, "You think we don't know that?"

Kayla glared back, "Meh, just a friendly reminder. No need to get upset or throw a fit."

Looking back at her, Jet continued his question from before the earthqueake. "Why are you helping us? You don't want to take the risk of being thrown in jail for protecting us, and yet you still help us?! What gives?!"

Kayla sat down on the sofa and quietly reminded herself not to put her feet up on the table, "What, you saying you don't trust me or something?"

Jet nodded, "What else could I be saying? You come out of nowhere, make us your little play toys and then drag us along for the ride?"

Kayla was able to see Jet's point and made no objection to it. She could tell from the other faces that there was some doubt in them as well. "I can't make you trust me....right now if I were to tell you anything, it wouldn't matter. Words don't make the person. I am aware that you guys have had to be very careful about people you trust and talk to outside the normal. So for me to suddenly barge in is a bit much, I agree." She then took a sigh, "But....the truth is, I really don't like being a bounty hunter at all. I just put on some awesome facade or something and I LOOK tough, but when it comes down to it, I really hate to take away peoples freedom and rights. Drifters are ones with wings, and bounty hunters are ones who clip them."

Everyone was quiet for a moment. They couldn't exactly explain what she meant, but they had a feeling that they knew.

Kayla then stood back up, "I guess when I saw the four of you, I got the impression that you're not as bad as the Ark says. Matter of a fact, I'm a little interested in the back story behind it all. The Ark is usually friendly, but I don't think the four of you would kill a guy to get a point across." She then looked at Jet, "Does that answer your question? I hate seeing caged birds when they have no need to be caged."

Everyone was quiet, trying to judge if her answer was sincere or not. Evenutally they decided they would give her a chance. After all, she was helping them now right?

"Well.."Kayla stretched her arms, "I'm going to my room....we'll head out tomorrow so make sure you rest well." She started to walk to her room and stopped by the basement door, "Dad, don't forget to charge my little trap devices! They're almost empty!"

The dad's voice could barely be heard, but it sounded like her said "Okay."

With that, Kayla left the room and everyone was silent for the rest of the night....

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

A/N: Woooo...chapter 4 done. It took awhile for me to sit down and write this because of a a job and Christmas all at hand. But it is now done. I have realized that I really never made a sketch of Kayla or what she looks like, so I'm going off an image in my head. I hope it looks somewhat similar to how you guys would envision her. While writing, I found the fact that Kayla just sorta mingled her way in easily to be too odd, so I decided that she will now have to prove herself before gaining full trust. (especially from Jet.) Look forward to chapter 5 as they will be at the tree and finding out what caused it.


End file.
